RIVERSIDE — When Brian Wickstrom was hired last year as UC Riverside’s new athletic director, one of the top priorities on his to-do list was finding a way to get an arena built on campus.

It wasn’t exactly a new goal. Even before UCR moved to Division I more than a decade ago, there were discussions about UCR and the city collaborating to build a multi-purpose facility that could host concerts, minor league hockey and school athletic events and also serve as an entertainment hub in the region. Several variations of arena designs were even drawn up over the years, but nothing materialized. The economic downturn didn’t help.

But things may be starting to change at UCR thanks in part to a creative approach by Wickstrom and the possibility of a $30 million infusion from Chinese investors.

“We turned over rocks looking for things that might work,” Wickstrom said of trying to find a way to fund an arena project. “We knew we had to get a little creative.”

GETTING CREATIVE

Wickstrom, whose resume included facility projects at Missouri, Santa Clara, Michigan and the University of Texas-El Paso, came to UCR aware of the economic climate in California and the challenge ahead. He had discussions with school supporters, administrators, developers, real estate experts, and anyone who would listen about how to get the ambitious project off the ground.

When an architect mentioned a federal program called EB-5, Wickstrom’s interest was piqued.

“Thinking outside the box,” he said.

EB-5

EB-5 is a federal program designed to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors, who in return for their money, get a green card and a pathway to permanent U.S. residency.

The program has been used to help fund projects in Temecula, Murrieta and San Bernardino and even the Rose Bowl has pursued EB-5 funds to help with renovation costs. It’s believed UCR is the first university to use the program for an athletic facility project.

Here’s how the program works. A foreign investor antes up $500,000 or $1 million (depending on the area) and creates at least 10 domestic jobs from that investment. The investor gets a green card and after two years can apply to live in the U.S. permanently. The program is a popular option for wealthy foreign investors to get on the fast track to a visa. It’s also been popular with American businesses looking for alternative ways to help fund projects in a tough U.S. economy.

TRIP TO CHINA

Wickstrom went to Shanghai, China, earlier this year and spent a weekend at a convention designed to introduce Americans to potential investors. He made several presentations about Riverside, UCR and specifically the C-Center.

“Because of how positive the American economy is seen over there compared to the economy in China and Europe, they see it as a better opportunity to invest in a growing America,” Wickstrom said.

There was enough interest in the C-Center project that an estimated $20 to $30 million was committed, said Jeff Hopkins, president of the Hopkins Group, an Irvine-based company that has put together EB-5 funding for local projects and is working on the C-Center funding.

“You typically relied on bond money or fundraising,” Hopkins said of past ways to finance a large project like the C-Center. “Given where we are in the economy, especially at the state level, this project would not get built through traditional way of funding.”

ARENA HISTORY

Even back in the 1970’s, there were preliminary plans to build an arena on the UCR campus.

John Masi, whose long career at UCR included being a basketball player, coach and athletic director, said discussions heated up in the mid-1990s as the campus and enrollment continued to grow, however nothing progressed past the preliminary stages.

“We never could settle on the size of the place, how much the university was going to contribute as opposed to other people,” he said. “I know the university was willing to put up the land and there was talk about the city getting involved as well to build a multi-purpose place. But other than talk, that’s all it was.”

Until the mid-1990s, the basketball and volleyball teams played in the small gym in the Physical Education building, which had a capacity of about 1,000. The Student Recreation Center was built in 1994, but because it was funded through student fees, it’s not part of the athletic department and the basketball and volleyball teams have limited access to the facility.

“UCR needs a venue and needs it badly,” Masi said. “UCR has never built a gym for basketball and that’s a shame.”

INVESTORS

Potential EB-5 investors must be vetted by the federal government. They will not be involved in C-Center operations, Wickstrom said, describing them as silent partners. “Passive investors” was Hopkins’ description.

“Their main goal is to get a green card,” Hopkins said, adding that some investors may have children in college in the U.S. and the green card would allow them to visit.

The requirement to create American jobs through EB-5 investment would include counting construction workers on the C-Center project, along with arena workers and potential retail employees, among others.

Even with an infusion of $30 million through the EB-5 program, there are still several hurdles to clear before getting the project approved, Wickstrom said.

UP NEXT

A site feasibility report could be finished as soon as this week. The report will outline more detailed cost estimates and details about the building, including capacity, which is expected to be 6,000 to 8,000 seats. The C-Center project, which also includes a multi-level parking structure across the street, could cost in the $70 million range based on the cost of similar projects.

The chancellor must approve the project and then it will be presented to the UC Board of Regents in November. That presentation will include a funding model, which is still being developed.

The hope at UCR is that the $30 million from EB-5 could kick-start construction on the project and also kick-start fundraising once potential donors see the building actually becoming reality. Investors would be paid back once the arena starts generating revenue. Naming rights, sponsorships and more donors will continue to be courted.

Allan Steele has been a sports writer with the Press-Enterprise since 1999. He's covered events at every level from CIF championships to NCAA, MLB, NFL and NBA playoffs and even covered the Sparks run to two WNBA titles back in the day. Currently covers the eight Inland-area colleges. Since he no longer covers MLB, can now root for the Dodgers and the inevitable World Series celebration. Big Game of Thrones fan (books and TV) when not covering or watching sports.